System and method for sharing images using an image upload menu

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a system and method for uploading an image file to an image repository from a mobile handheld communications device having an integrated camera. In an embodiment, the method comprises: upon determining capture of an image using the integrated camera, automatically initiating an image upload module; configuring the image upload module to display an image upload user interface having user selectable image upload settings; and upon receiving user instructions, uploading the image file to the image repository with the selected image upload settings. The upload settings may be preselected and the device may be preauthorized to access an account on the image repository.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/589,410 filed Aug. 20, 2012, which was a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/754,749 filed May 29, 2007. The contentsof these applications are incorporated herein by reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Officepatent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods forsharing images using an image upload module.

BACKGROUND

Recent advances with handheld wireless communication devices haveresulted in the introduction of integrated cameras capable of capturingimages at a resolution sufficient for many consumer applications. Oncecaptured, the images may be stored in available memory on thecommunication device, and viewed on a display provided on thecommunication device. However, the available memory on the communicationdevice may be limited, and a user may not be able to capture and storenew images in the communication device without deleting images or otherfiles already stored in memory. As well, while the user may enjoy theimages on the communication device, the user may want to share theimages with other users. However, there may be carrier networkrestrictions on transmission bandwidth. Also, if the images are to beshared, the ability to easily add descriptive information and locationinformation about the images may be desirable.

What is needed is an improved system and method for uploading images.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the figures which illustrate exemplary embodiments:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of various components that may befound in a handheld mobile communication device;

FIG. 2 is an illustrative example of a handheld mobile communicationdevice that may provide an operating environment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative example of a networkenvironment in which various embodiments may be practiced;

FIGS. 4A to 4K are screen captures of illustrative user interfaces inaccordance with various embodiments; and

FIG. 5B is a flowchart of an illustrative method for sharing imagesusing an image upload module in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As noted above, the present invention relates generally to systems andmethods for sharing images using an upload menu.

In an illustrative embodiment, the invention may be practiced with ahandheld mobile communication device in a wireless operatingenvironment. Shown in FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of anillustrative handheld mobile communication device 100. The communicationdevice 100 may comprise a number of components, including a mainprocessor 102 which controls the overall operation of communicationdevice 100. Communication functions, including data and voicecommunications, may be performed through a communication subsystem 104.The communication subsystem 104 may receive messages from and sendmessages to a wireless network 200.

The main processor 102 may also interact with additional subsystems suchas a random access memory (RAM) 106, a flash memory 108, a display 110,an auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystem 112, a data port 114, akeyboard 116, a trackball 117, a speaker 118, a microphone 120,short-range communications 122, a GPS subsystem 124, a camera module126, and associated camera logic 128.

Some of the subsystems of the communication device 100 may performcommunication-related functions, whereas other subsystems may provide“resident” or on-device functions. By way of example, the display 110and the keyboard 116 may be used for both communication-relatedfunctions, such as entering a text message for transmission over thenetwork 200, and device-resident functions such as a calculator or tasklist. The trackball 117 may be used for various navigation functions,such as navigating through a graphical user interface (GUI) menudisplayed on display 110. The trackball 117 may also be configured witha secondary actuation feature, such as allowing a user to depress thetrackball, to allow selection of a highlighted item.

The GPS subsystem 124 may include a GPS antenna to receive signalstransmitted by a minimum number of in-view GPS satellites required toacquire accurate latitude and longitude coordinates. The GPS system mayalso be operatively connected to the main processor 102 to pass theacquired latitude and longitude coordinates to one or more softwareapplications 134, and to store the latitude and longitude coordinates asmay be required into flash memory 108 or RAM 106. If the GPS antenna isnot able to receive a signal from a sufficient number of in-view GPSsatellites (e.g. because of buildings, bridges, or other obstructions,or because the communication device 100 is being used indoors), it maynot be possible to acquire the GPS coordinates.

The camera module 126 may be adapted to capture an image through a lensonto a light sensitive image sensor such as a charge coupled device(CCD) sensor array or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)sensor array. The camera lens may be a fixed focus lens, or a variablefocus lens with or without zoom features and controlled by camera logic128 to focus an image onto the CCD or CMOS sensor array. The size andpixel density of the CCD or CMOS sensor array may be suitably selectedfor the image resolution required for a particular application. Cameralogic 128 may also control the camera lens aperture and/or shutter speedby incorporating a suitable light exposure meter. Image capture usingcamera module 126 may initiated by a user controlling a dedicated camerashutter, or a context dependent programmable button or key (on keyboard116, for example) that may act as a camera shutter button.

Once captured by the CCD or CMOS sensor array, the image may then beprocessed by camera logic 128 into a suitable digital image file formatsuch as Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), Tagged-Image FileFormat (TIFF), Bit Mapping (BMP), different variations on these standardimage file formats, or a vendor proprietary RAW image format. The imagefile format may allow for the addition of image meta-data to an imagefile in an industry standards exchangeable image file format (EXIF), orin some vendor proprietary meta-data format.

The image file may then be stored in available device storage such asRAM 106 or flash memory 108, and displayed on display 110. As will bedescribed in detail further below, in order to minimize consumption ofpotentially scarce memory resources on communications device 100, thecaptured image may be transmitted from communications device 100 to anImage Repository.

Still referring to FIG. 1, operating system software used by the mainprocessor 102 is typically stored in a persistent store such as flashmemory 108. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the operatingsystem, specific device applications, or parts thereof, may betemporarily loaded into a volatile store, such as the RAM 106, forprocessing by main processor 102.

The communication device 100 may send and receive communication signalsover the wireless network 200 after required network registration oractivation procedures have been completed. Network access may beassociated with a subscriber or user of the communication device 100.

The communication device 100 may be a battery-powered device and mayinclude a battery interface 132 for receiving one or more rechargeablebatteries 130. In some embodiments, the battery 130 may be a smartbattery with an embedded microprocessor. The battery interface 132 iscoupled to a regulator (not shown), which assists the battery 130 inproviding power V+ to the communication device 100. The battery 130 maybe used to power all components and modules in the communication device100, including the camera module 126 and associated camera logic 128.

The main processor 102, in addition to its operating system functions,enables execution of various software applications 134 on thecommunication device 100. A subset of software applications 134 thatcontrol basic device operations, including data and voice communicationapplications, will normally be installed on the communication device 100during its manufacture.

The software applications 134 may include a messaging application 136.The messaging application 136 can be any suitable software program thatallows a subscriber or user of the communication device 100 to send andreceive wireless text communications. Various alternatives exist for themessaging application 136 as is well known to those skilled in the art.Messages that have been sent or received by the user are typicallystored in local storage such as flash memory 108 of the communicationdevice 100, or in some other suitable storage element in thecommunication device 100. In an alternative embodiment, some of the sentand received messages may be stored remotely from the communicationdevice 100 such as in a data store of an associated host system that thecommunication device 100 communicates with. In an embodiment, themessaging application 136 may include a Message List user interface thatis configured to allow a user to see a list of message objects (i.e.email messages) in a convenient list form. This will be described indetail further below.

The software applications 134 may also include a GPS map application 146for providing geographic navigation, and location coordinates forgeotagging objects. GPS map application 146 may be configured tooperatively connect to GPS subsystem 124 to receive GPS latitude andlongitude coordinates for a current position of the communication device100. GPS map application 146 may also store scalable maps of variousgeographic regions in order to show the current position ofcommunication device 100 on the map. As well, the GPS map application146 may be configured to obtain latitude and longitude locationcoordinates by allowing a user to select a position on the GPS map.

Still referring to FIG. 1, communication device 100 may execute an ImageApplications Module 148 that may be operatively integrated with cameramodule 126, camera logic 128, main processor 102, RAM 106, display 110and various other modules and components to provide various imageapplication functions for the images captured by the camera module 126.Image Applications Module may include various sub modules such as anImage Upload Module 148B, an Image Resizing Module 148C, a MessageIntegration Module 148D, and an Image Geotagging Module 148E. Thesevarious sub modules may interact with each other, and with otherapplication modules such as the messaging application 136, Internetbrowser module 138, address book module 142, GPS map module 146, etc. inorder to perform various functions. Image Applications Module 148 andits sub modules will be described in more detail further below.

The communication device 100 may further include a device state module140, an address book 142, a Personal Information Manager (PIM) 144, andvarious other modules 150. Additional software applications may also beloaded onto the communication device 100 through at least one of thewireless network 200, the auxiliary I/O subsystem 112, the data port114, the short-range communications subsystem 122, or other devicesubsystem 124.

Now referring to FIG. 2, shown is an illustrative front view of ahandheld mobile communication device 100 that may provide a suitableoperating environment. As shown, the communication device 100 mayinclude a display 110, a keyboard 116, and other input or navigationmeans such as a trackball 117. The display 110 may be configured todisplay various screens allowing the user of device 100 to view screenoutputs from the various software applications 134, including the imageapplications 148. Display 110 may also be configured to provide atouch-sensitive screen input in response to a prompt or query displayedon display 110. The communication device 100 may further include acamera lens that may be used to capture an image as described above withreference to FIG. 1. In an embodiment, the integrated camera 126 mayprovide a camera lens 127 on the back of the communication device 100,such that a user may use the display 110 as a camera viewfinder forframing an image.

Now referring to FIG. 3, shown is a schematic block diagram of anillustrative network environment 300 in which various embodiments of theinvention may be practiced. As shown, network environment 300 mayinclude a device server 310 operatively connected to the handheld mobilecommunication device 100 via a wireless carrier network 320. An InternetService Provider (ISP) server 330 may also be provided in the networkenvironment 300 such that a user of device 100 may access the Internet340 from the device 100.

In an embodiment, the Internet 340 may provide access to an ImageRepository 360. Membership to use the Image Repository 360 may be free,or may be by paid subscription, for example. The Image Repository 360may also be accessible by a third party 350 that has membership to theImage Repository 360. As well, the Image Repository 360 may be accessedfrom other handheld mobile communication devices 100B within wirelesscarrier network 320, or from other compatible communication devices 100Cwith access to Internet 340.

Now referring to FIGS. 4A to 4K, shown are illustrative user interfacesin accordance with various embodiments. First, referring to FIG. 4A,shown is an illustrative integrated camera user interface screen 400Adisplaying an illustrative image “IMG00027” captured by the integratedcamera (e.g. by camera module 126 and camera logic 128 as previouslydescribed). As shown, the camera user interface 400A may include iconssuch a “camera mode” icon 402A, a “delete image” icon 404A, a “cropimage” icon 406A, a “mail image” icon 408A, and an “images folder” icon410A.

Referring to FIG. 4B, shown is a camera user interface screen 400B nowincluding a “Send . . . ” pop-up menu 402B. In this illustrativeexample, the “Send . . . ” pop-up menu 402B includes a number of menuoptions including “Send as Email” 404B, “Send as MMS (MultimediaMessaging Service)” 406B, and “Send To (Image Repository)” 408B (e.g.where the Image Repository may be an online image repository such asFlickr™, for example). These “Send . . . ” options will be described inmore detail further below.

FIG. 4C shows a user interface screen 400C with a context menu 402C thatmay also provide the “Send . . . ” menu options as described above,including “Send to (Image Repository)” 408C. This context menu 402C maybe another one of several ways in which the “Send to (Image Repository)”option may be accessed, and will be discussed in more detail furtherbelow.

Now referring to FIG. 4D, shown is a user interface screen 400D with anoption settings menu 402D for the “Send to (Image Repository)” option inwhich records of images uploaded to an Image Repository may beintegrated into a Message List. The Message List may be a chronologicallisting of different types of objects that may include, for example,email messages, message status reports, telephone call records, etc.This Message List integration will be described in more detail furtherbelow.

Now referring to FIG. 4E, shown is a user interface screen 400E with a“Send to (Image Repository)” window 408E in which a number of text entryfields are provided to allow the user to add descriptive information,such as “Title”, “Description”, and “Tags”. Furthermore, the “Send to(Image Repository)” window may include various other options such as ageographic “Location” field 430D, a “Privacy” setting 432D, and an image“Resize to” setting 434D. These various settings and features will bediscussed in more detail further below.

FIG. 4F shows a user interface screen 400F with an illustrative “Send to(Image Repository)” window 408F which may include various options forselecting a geographic location, such as “None” 430F, a “Where I Am . .. ” option 432F, an “Enter Address . . . ” option 434F, a “From AddressBook . . . ” option 436F, and a “Favorites” option 438F. These variousoptions will be discussed in more detail further below.

Now referring to FIG. 4G, shown is a user interface screen 400G with anillustrative “Send to (Image Repository)” screen 408G with an “EnterAddress” pop-up window 440G. For example, in order to obtain geographiccoordinates by address, a user may fill out one or more of the followingfields: Address 442G, City 444G, State/Province 446G, and Country 448G.Alternatively, FIG. 4H shows a user interface 400H with an illustrativeexample of an address list 442H from which a target address 444H may beselected. With the specification of an address, or the selection of atarget address from a list, the corresponding geographic coordinates maybe obtained from a GPS mapping application (e.g. GPS map module 146).This feature will be described in more detail further below.

Now referring to FIG. 4I, shown is a user interface screen 400J with anillustrative list of location “Favorites” 438J from which a “favorite”location 450J may be selected for the purposes of obtaining thecorresponding geographic coordinates. This feature will be described inmore detail further below.

Now referring to FIG. 4J, shown is a user interface screen 400K with anillustrative “Send To (Image Repository)” screen 408K in which the“Where I Am . . . ” option has been selected to obtain the geographiclocation. In order to determine the current location, the device 100 maysearch for and try to acquire GPS signals using the GPS subsystem 124,as indicated in pop-up message 460K.

Now referring to FIG. 4K, shown is a user interface screen 400L with anillustrative geographic location menu in which a new location entry 462L(e.g. “Here @ Mar 14 12:04 a”) has been added. The use of thisgeographic location acquired through the “Where I Am . . . ” option willbe described in more detail further below.

Now referring to FIG. 5B, and referring back to FIGS. 4A to 4K asnecessary, various embodiments will be described in detail.

In an embodiment, Image Applications Module 148 may include an ImageUpload Module 148B configured to upload images taken by integratedcamera module 126 to an Image Repository 360. The Image Upload Module148B of photo application 148 may either be installed as communicationdevice 100 is assembled and configured, or may be distributed as anadd-on application program downloadable over a wireless carrier network320, or by visiting a specified Uniform Resource Locator (URL) on theInternet 340 for example. As mentioned earlier, image uploading may beperformed if there is limited available memory on the communicationdevice 100, so that the user can clear the device memory as necessary inorder to take more images. However, image uploading may also be done ifthe user wishes to easily share images with other users.

FIG. 5B is a flowchart of an illustrative method 500B for sharing imagesusing an image upload module in accordance with an embodiment. As shown,method 500B begins, and at block 502B, awaits the capture of an imageusing the integrated camera module 126. Next, at decision block 504B,method 500B determines if an image has been captured. If yes, method500B may proceed to block 506B to initiate the Image Upload Module 148B.If no, method 500B may loop back to block 502B.

In an embodiment, at block 508B, the Image Upload Module 148B may beconfigured to automatically display an image upload user interface uponcapture of an image using the integrated camera module 126. For example,as illustrated above in FIG. 4B, the Image Upload Module 148B maydisplay a “Send . . . ” menu 402B from which a “Send To (ImageRepository)” menu item 408B may be selected.

In another embodiment, the Image Upload Module 148B may also beconfigured to display send menu 402B with the “Send To (ImageRepository)” menu item 408B preselected as the default image uploadoption. With this default option preselected, the user would only needto confirm the selection (e.g. with the click of a trackball 117 or akey from keyboard 116) in order to initiate the image upload process.

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4C, the Image UploadModule 148B may also be accessible from various other menus, such as acontext menu 402C which may be made available when a user selects apredefined context menu button from a particular user interface screen.The context menu 402C may again include a “Send to (Image Repository)”option, as shown, which when selected may open another user interfacescreen window 408E, such as is shown in FIG. 4E.

The operation of the Image Upload Module 148B will now be described inmore detail. In an embodiment, the operation of Image Upload Module 148Bmay enter a first “pre-authorization” state, where the Image UploadModule 148B has been downloaded and installed, but never associated withan account on an Image Repository 360. In this pre-authorization state,no image uploads have been performed, and no successful interaction hasoccurred with the Image Repository application programming interface(API). In this state, the user may have attempted to authorize heraccount, but would have been unsuccessful as there is no information or“authorization token” on the communication device 100 that is associatedwith the Image Repository 360. No personal information is stored in theImage Upload Module 148B at this time, and will not be until the ImageRepository 360 account authorization procedure is successfullycompleted. Thus, at block 510B, method 500B may initiate an accountauthorization process to gain access to the Image Repository.

At block 510B, method 500B may configure the Image Upload Module 148B toinitiate access to an account on the Image Repository 360. By way ofexample, there may be a number of ways in which a user may initiate anImage Repository 360 account authorization procedure: 1) the user mayselect a context menu option to “Send To . . . ” the Image Repository360; 2) the user may attempt to check account usage for his ImageRepository account; 3) the user may click on an “Enter AuthorizationKey” menu option from the Image Repository 360 context menu.

In an illustrative embodiment, a user interface for accountauthorization provided on communication device 100 may be configured tointeract with the Image Repository 360 to create an authorization tokenfor storage on communication device 100. This authorization token storedon communication device 100 may then be used in every subsequentcommunication between the Image Repository and the communication device100. As an illustrative example, if the Image Repository is Flickr, theauthorization token may be used to identify which Flickr account thecommunication device 100 should be interacting with. The authorizationtoken may be encrypted using a persistent content encoding function, andmay be stored in this encoded form on the communication device 100.

Next, at block 512B, once a communication device 100 has a validauthorization token to upload images to the Image Repository 360, method500B may configure the Image Upload Module 148B with the selected imageupload settings. All Image Repository application programming interface(API) interactions may then be possible, and all API methods may becalled.

As an illustrative example of upload settings, the Image Upload Module148B may be configured to upload only non-protected image files of asupported image file type (e.g. GIF, JPG, JPEG, PJPEG, TIFF, PNG,RIM_PNG, BMP, WBMP). Image files may be protected, for example, if thereis an enterprise IT policy not to allow uploads of images fromenterprise issued communication devices 100. In the case of a protectedimage, the Image Upload Module 148B functionality as described hereinmay be largely curtailed.

As noted earlier, the Image Upload Module 148B may be initialized from a“Send To (Image Repository)” menu option located in a context menu. Thecontext menu may be accessible from various software applications 134 toprovide “Send As . . . ” or “Send To . . . ” menu options when the userclicks the corresponding context menu button on communication device100. By way of example, the menu options may include “Send As Email” and“Send As SMS”, and “Send To (Image Repositories)”.

Next, at block 514B, method 500B may configure the Image Upload Module148B to allow the user to specify the viewing privileges required toview any images uploaded by the user to the Image Repository 360. Forexample, the user may specify that the uploaded images are for theprivate use of the user only. Alternatively, the user may specify thatthe images may be shared within a defined group of users, or shared withall other Image Repository users.

In an embodiment, the Image Upload Module 148B may be available from anumber of different applications, such as a camera application (foraccessing and controlling the camera module 126), an image file explorer(for reviewing image files stored on communication device 100), an emailattachment service (for including image files as email attachments), andpossibly other software applications 134 provided on communicationdevice 100. Thus, as will be appreciated, the Image Upload Module 148Bmay be associated with image files themselves, and not with any specificsoftware application 134.

In an embodiment, the authorization token may be stored on thecommunication device 100 until explicitly deleted by the user. If a userhas decided that he or she no longer wants the communication device 100to be able to interact with the Image Repository 360, this may beaccomplished by selecting an “Authorization Token Delete” option from acontext menu, for example. Upon selecting the “Authorization Key Delete”option, the authorization key may be removed from the communicationdevice 100, effectively disassociating the communication device 100 fromthe Image Repository 360 account. Further interaction with the ImageRepository 360 may then be prevented without activation of a new ImageRepository 360 account. If an attempt is made to activate a new account,the account authorization process described above may be initiated onceagain.

In an embodiment, the Image Upload Module 148B may be configured toprovide users with the ability to add descriptive information to animage before uploading. The descriptive information may include a title,a caption, tag words or phrases, or other information that may beassociated with the image. As an illustrative example, entering [“SnowStorm” Waterloo Cold] in a “Tag” field may result in the following tags:a) Snow Storm; b) Waterloo; c) Cold. In an embodiment, the descriptiveinformation may be stored together with the image on local storage onthe communication device 100, and may also be uploaded with the imageand stored on an Image Repository 360 to be accessed by the user (or byother users with appropriate viewing privileges). The descriptiveinformation may be optional, and if not provided by the user, need notbe stored or displayed. Thus, at block 516B, method 500B may configurethe Image Upload Module 148B to provide a user interface to allow a userto add descriptive information about an image to be uploaded. Method500B may then proceed to block 518B, where upon receiving userinstructions, the image may be uploaded using the selected uploadsettings.

In another embodiment, the user's image uploads to the Image Repositoryaccount may be recorded on the communication device 100 in a MessageList, as will be discussed in detail further below. In this case, aunique identification token may be saved with each Message List objectassociated with the Image Repository 360, so that the uniqueidentification token may be used in a URL linking to an image filestored in the Image Repository 360. Until the Message List object isdeleted, the unique identification token may be stored with it to keep apointer to the image stored in the Image Repository 360. Thus, at block520B, method 500B may configure the Image Upload Module 148B to obtain aURL link to each uploaded image, thus associating the uniqueidentification token with each uploaded image. Method 500B may then end.

Deactivating an Image Repository account may not necessarily remove theuser's upload history (e.g. as recorded in a Message List). Rather, theupload history may be configured to persist in the Message List on thecommunication device 100, until deleted by the user. Accountdeactivation may also occur if a second communication device 100 isassociated with the Image Repository 360 account. In this case, thefirst communication device 100 may automatically be deactivated.

Thus, in an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method ofuploading an image file to an image repository from a mobile handheldcommunications device having an integrated camera, comprising: upondetermining capture of an image using the integrated camera,automatically initiating an image upload module; configuring the imageupload module to display an image upload user interface having userselectable image upload settings; and upon receiving user instructions,uploading the image file to the image repository with the selected imageupload settings.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises preselecting defaultupload settings in the image upload user interface.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises initiating accountauthorization for the communications device to access the imagerepository.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises associating theimage upload module only with non-protected image files of a specifiedimage type.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises providing as one ofthe user selectable upload settings viewing privileges for the imagefile to be uploaded to the image repository.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises configuring theimage upload module to provide a descriptive field in the image uploaduser interface for allowing a user to add descriptive information aboutthe image file to be uploaded to the image repository.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises configuring theimage upload module to obtain a URL link to the uploaded image file.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system foruploading an image file to an image repository from a mobile handheldcommunications device having an integrated camera, comprising: means forautomatically initiating an image upload module upon determining captureof an image using the integrated camera; means for configuring the imageupload module to display an image upload user interface having userselectable image upload settings; and means for uploading the image fileto the image repository with the selected image upload settings uponreceiving user instructions.

In an embodiment, the system further comprises means for preselectingdefault upload settings in the image upload user interface.

In another embodiment, the system further comprises means for initiatingaccount authorization for the communications device to access the imagerepository.

In another embodiment, the system further comprises means forassociating the image upload module only with non-protected image filesof a specified image type.

In another embodiment, the system further comprises means for providingas one of the user selectable upload settings viewing privileges for theimage file to be uploaded to the image repository.

In another embodiment, the system further comprises means forconfiguring the image upload module to provide a descriptive field inthe image upload user interface for allowing a user to add descriptiveinformation about the image file to be uploaded to the image repository.

In another embodiment, the system further comprises means forconfiguring the image upload module to obtain a URL link to the uploadedimage file.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided data processorreadable medium storing data processor code that when loaded onto amobile handheld communications device adapts the device to perform themethods as described above.

While illustrative embodiments have been described above, it will beappreciated that various changes and modifications may be made. Moregenerally, the scope of the invention is defined by the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A processor-implemented method comprising:configuring a mobile communication device to implement an enterprise ITpolicy specifying whether photos captured from a camera associated withthe mobile communication device are permitted to be uploaded to anonline image repository.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobilecommunication device includes a camera, the method further comprising:capturing a photo using the camera; and when the enterprise IT policypermits a photo to be uploaded from the mobile communication device,uploading the photo.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:associating the mobile communication device with an account on the imagerepository, and wherein uploading the photo comprises uploading thephoto using the account.
 4. The method of claim 2, further comprising,when the enterprise IT policy permits a photo to be uploaded from themobile communication device, displaying a selectable option to uploadthe photo to the online image repository.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein, when the enterprise IT policy indicates that photos are not tobe uploaded to the online image repository, configuring comprisesdisabling image upload functionality on the mobile communication device.6. The method of claim 5, wherein disabling image upload functionalitycomprises disabling the uploading of photos captured from the camera. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the mobile communicationdevice comprises configuring a setting associated with a module inmemory of the mobile communication device.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising, when the enterprise IT policy permits a photo to beuploaded from the mobile communication device, upon determining captureof a photo using the camera of the mobile communication device,automatically initiating an image upload module, the image upload moduleconfigured to upload photos taken by the camera.
 9. An electronic devicecomprising: a camera; a communication subsystem; a processor coupled tothe camera and the communication subsystem, the processor configured toconfigure the electronic device to implement an enterprise IT policyspecifying whether photos captured from a camera associated with theelectronic device are permitted to be uploaded to an online imagerepository.
 10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the processoris further configured to: capture a photo using the camera; and when theenterprise IT policy permits the photo to be uploaded from theelectronic device, uploading the photo.
 11. The electronic device ofclaim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to: associate theelectronic device with an account on the image repository, and whereinuploading the photo comprises uploading the photo using the account. 12.The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: when the enterprise IT policy permits a photo to beuploaded from the electronic device, display a selectable option toupload the photo to the online image repository.
 13. The electronicdevice of claim 10, wherein, when the enterprise IT policy indicatesthat photos are not to be uploaded to the online image repository,configuring comprises disabling image upload functionality on theelectronic device.
 14. The electronic device of claim 13, whereindisabling image upload functionality comprises disabling the uploadingof photos captured from the camera.
 15. The electronic device of claim9, wherein configuring the electronic device comprises configuring asetting associated with a module in memory of the electronic device. 16.The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: when the enterprise IT policy permits a photo to beuploaded from the mobile communication device, upon determining captureof a photo using the camera of the mobile communication device,automatically initiating an image upload module, the image upload moduleconfigured to upload photos taken by the camera.
 17. A machine-readablemedium encoded with machine-executable instructions, wherein executionof the machine-executable instructions is for: configuring a mobilecommunication device to implement an enterprise IT policy specifyingwhether photos captured from a camera associated with the mobilecommunication device are permitted to be uploaded to an online imagerepository.
 18. The machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein themobile communication device includes a camera, wherein execution of themachine-executable instructions is also for: capturing a photo using thecamera; and when the enterprise IT policy permits a photo to be uploadedfrom the mobile communication device, uploading the photo.
 19. Themachine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the mobile communicationdevice includes a camera, wherein execution of the machine-executableinstructions is also for: associating the mobile communication devicewith an account on the image repository, and wherein uploading the photocomprises uploading the photo using the account.
 20. Themachine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the mobile communicationdevice includes a camera, wherein execution of the machine-executableinstructions is also for: when the enterprise IT policy permits a phototo be uploaded from the mobile communication device, displaying aselectable option to upload the photo to the online image repository.